Are Your Doors and Windows Sticking? Foundation Piers May be the Answer!

Tuesday, September 6th, 2016 by Katerina Hladikova

Are you having foundation settlement problems? Are your doors and windows sticking? Is your foundation broken? Are you wondering what can be done to fix this? Before deciding on what method to use for your home, make sure you are fully educated on all of your options.

3 Foundation Repair Methods That WON’T Work

1. Total Foundation Replacement

This method involves excavating the soil from around your foundation walls, jacking up your house, removing your slab floor and foundation walls and replacing the soil and rebuilding your foundation.

This seems like a great idea if your foundation is broken, not only is it expensive but it doesn’t address the issue, as the foundation isn’t the problem, the soil is. You can expect the same issues; the foundation will crack again.

2. Concrete Underpinning

This involves soil excavation from around the foundation and then it pours concrete footings beneath the existing footings, this backfills the soil.

You would think a bigger footing should be better, but most of the time concrete underpinning does not extend beyond the troubled soil. This means that the soil beneath the new footings could still be moving, causing the house to continue to move.

2. Concrete Piers

These are short concrete cylinders which are pushed into the soil on top of each other, held together by a wire in the center. Then shims are placed on top of the uppermost concrete cylinder and the soil is backfilled.

You may think that concrete a strong material, and it is, but it doesn’t work in this case. Not only is it difficult to push the sections deep into the ground, there is nothing to guide the direction of them, so they may not be installed straight. We all know that concrete cracks.

2 Foundation Repair Methods That WILL Work

1. Steel Push Piers

They are also known as resistance piers. They are made of steel and driven deep into the soil to bedrock or another stable soil layer. They can be installed either from the interior of your home or the exterior. They lift your home back to its original position. This will close cracks and improve the operation of doors and windows.

The workers remove soil from where the pier will be driven into. Then a heavy duty steel bracket is installed below and against your foundation’s footings. The steel pier sections are driven through the bracket to bedrock hydraulically. The house can be lifted, and soil can be backfilled.

2. Helical Piers

This is another steel piering system. It is advanced into the ground and has bearing plates or helical blades welded to the shaft. These can also be installed either from the interior or the exterior of the home. They also provide you with the opportunity to raise your home to its original position.

Soil is removed from the area where the helical pier will be installed. Then it is mechanically screwed into the soil. Once the depths are achieved, heavy duty steel foundation brackets are put below and against the footing. This causes the weight of the home to transfer to deep competent soils. Then the home can be lifted and the soil around the installation can be replaced.

For more information on how you can repair your home, contact our office today and schedule your free estimate.